


my last

by reflectionslie (fallsink)



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M, Romance, just not today, mermaid au, one day I'll do this ship justice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-15 02:25:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallsink/pseuds/reflectionslie
Summary: this is where he’s meant to be





	my last

ages old are the tales that the villagers whisper to each other between thatched-roof ceilings and sandy floors — of shipwrecks, of stolen treasures, of depthlessness.

more than those, though, they tell each other in undertones of creatures undiscovered and dangerous. especially those that tangle nets, flip unsuspecting boats, and share half their genes. of course they only mutter under their breaths because it’s bad luck, at best a lost day’s worth of catch, at worst…they shudder and hardly dare to even think.

dowoon’s known these stories better than his own family history, and — quite honestly — couldn’t care less. he’s never one for rules, especially those regarding the sea.

the sun beats down on his exposed arms beneath rolled-back sleeves and his muscles are starting to ache, but the excitement pounding in his blood is enough of a drug as he takes it all in, drinking in the wild air.

this. this, more than busan his hometown, more than seoul where he discovered his passion for marine biology, more than even the village perched by the cliff unseen from here, this — surrounded by all sides of turbulent waves at least seven shades of blue and sweep of sky that’s both too far to reach and caving in — is where he’s meant to be.

he pulls to a stop close to the edge of the rocky cliff and lets out a sigh as he sinks carefully back against the wood and drifts.

ever since he had come here years ago to this oceanscape, sandy sandals and bucketful of shells, he’s lost his heart to the seas. even, when he falls into the waves and almost drowns, he’s never felt so alive anywhere else. he’s so in love with the wild untamability of the world of currents and tides.

he doesn’t have to wait long before the low rhythmic bobbing starts to hiccup erratically at a disturbance close by. he scrambles forward from the other side, his heart rising higher than the rocky face above him.

beneath the shadow the cliff throws, the rippling surface suddenly breaks like the beam that now spreads across dowoon’s lips. first a head full of tumbling sun-bleached hair. then impossibly broad shoulders appear, and muscled arms rest on the boat’s edge.

younghyun is all smiles and rumbling purrs in his expansive chest and dowoon wastes no time in kissing those sea salt lips, in the process rocking the small boat precariously.

‘easy,’ younghyun murmurs, husky voice low. but he contradicts his words by resting a sea brine hand on the back of dowoon’s neck, dragging sandy nails against the short hairs.

'I missed you,’ dowoon whispers, licking into the other’s mouth as hungrily as a drowning sailor seeks air.

younghyun hums in response before letting go, his necklace decorated with broken shells and sea glass clinks against his chiseled collarbones. he pulls back and treads, his eyes still never leaving dowoon’s face.

dowoon would’ve held the contact if it wasn’t for the little  _splash!_  close by and his gaze is drawn back to the lower half of younghyun’s body. below the watercolor cloth wrapped around his waist, younghyun’s koi fish tail flicks lazily and glimmers, the fins ragged and torn in places.

he remembers the first time they had met, so far below the waves that dowoon had almost given up hope of seeing the sweep of sky again. but then there was a glint of gold and with a sudden rush, his head broke above the waves.

somewhere between heaving gasps of air and spitting salty pieces onto the shifting sand beach, dowoon had felt something warm rubbing across his back and a low voice singing soothingly.

it took dowoon a few more minutes before he regained himself enough to turn to face his savior. like every time since then, he was immediately taken by the sight of the merman, treading lazily then in time with the waves.

‘are you well?’

blinking and coughing, dowoon had nodded and swallowed painfully. ‘managing.’

the merman hummed then, a sound reminiscent of whale song beneath ocean tides, but didn’t make any move to leave, which dowoon was grateful for. for a while, there was silence as he focused on his breathing and chose instead to watch the sleek tail glimmering underneath the surface.

dowoon doesn’t remember now what he had said exactly after that, but it had been something to the effect of, 'but koi fish aren’t native to this area.’

at this younghyun had laughed so hard that he tossed his blonde head back, wide shoulders shaking. 'ah,’ he finally replied after a few moments, his clever eyes twinkling more than the scales of his tail. ‘but I am not a normal koi, no?’

'you have lost weight again,’ younghyun comments now, breaking into dowoon’s memories, straight eyebrows furrowing.

dowoon sighs. 'how can I not? not when sungjin’s on my ass all the time, wonpil going through his rebellious phase five years late, and jaehyung is always mislabeling specimens.’

chuckling, younghyun splashes his glimmering tail beneath the waves. there is a moment of silence only broken by the distant calls of seagulls.

'so what brings you back?’ younghyun asks, tilting his head, eyelashes heavy. 'are you in need of new species to see and record?’

dowoon frowns, though nowhere as severely as he wants. 'I don’t know if I should be sad, offended, or worried about you, that you think I came back so soon just for work.’

younghyun laughs at this, like he always does. ‘do not raise my hopes, lone sailor,’ he warns, slipping closer and resting his arms on the wood. ‘or I may drown you for your teasings.’ there is no bite behind his words.

settling on the planks, dowoon mirrors this on the other side and resting his cheek against his sleeves to look up at the merman.

‘tell me a story,’ he says.

raising his eyebrow again, younghyun says, ‘do you not tire of bedtime stories?’

‘not if it’s you,’ dowoon replies.

‘very well,’ younghyun hums, flashing a smile before looking out to the horizon. ‘let me tell you the story of how the sky and sea were so in love, but were destined to never be together…’

closing his eyes, dowoon lets his mind drift in the present and past with inklings of the future. he can never forget the handful of stories the merman tells of the land — or at least whatever younghyun can remember before he became what he is — and wonders if it could ever be him too.

but for now, he’s content with drowning in the depthlessness of younghyun’s voice beneath an open sky that will forever and always yearn for the sea.

this is exactly where he’s meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr original](http://daystring6.tumblr.com/post/154409901671)


End file.
